Dismounting, Bailiang patted the horse's cheek before returning it to the crew's wrangler.
This crimson horse was tall and robust, and it even snorted at Bailiang before they parted ways.
Perhaps influenced by his recent outing to the sing-along KTV, Bailiang subconsciously imagined a line for the horse: "Hey handsome, come play with me again next time."
Right, it was a young mare.
Actually, Bailiang was somewhat curious: if he didn't know how to ride horses or do martial arts, would the crew have kicked him out on the spot, or made him go back to playing emperors?
An emperor, huh~
Suddenly he felt a slight pang of regret. If he'd known, he would have said he didn't know how.
Sun Qiang: "You're too young!"
Who said you actually have to know how to ride a horse to shoot horse-riding scenes? You just don't shoot the wide shots.
Not every actor in the entertainment industry who shoots horse-riding scenes actually knows how to ride. It used to be a bit better, with stricter requirements for actors.
As for now... if you can't ride a real one, you just ride a fake one!
For wide shots, just find a stunt double; for close-ups, only shoot the upper body.
To save money, some crews even prepare only fake ones.
The more conscientious ones use an electric fake horse that moves up and down on its own; the unscrupulous ones just have you shaking on top of a stool.
It's all about non-object performance.
This actually tests an actor's skills quite a bit. Those who act well look just like they're really riding a horse; those who act poorly look like they're riding a coin-operated kiddie ride.
After leading the horse back, the wrangler couldn't help praising, "Brother, your riding skills are not bad! You just dashed out like that and gave me a fright, I thought the horse had bolted."
"Not bad~"
At that moment, Bailiang noticed there were quite a lot of people around.
People still love to watch a lively scene, after all!
He wasn't stage-frightened either, waving at the onlookers. Immediately, a few girls responded with giggles.
Did he seemingly hear someone secretly saying he was handsome?
After a brief interaction with the "live audience," Bailiang still felt something was missing, so he looked around.
Oh!
Sure enough, he spotted Guli Nazha and hurriedly waved at her.
Some people learn a certain skill to cultivate their character, while others do it out of interest and hobbies.
Bailiang was much more direct. He did it for the fun of it, but mostly to wait for a chance to show off in a big way.
And look, he'd waited for it!
Guli Nazha: .......Such a show-off!
She couldn't help it and burst out laughing, experiencing that familiar déjà vu of seeing male classmates acting cool back in her school days.
Her little assistant was quite generous with her praise, exclaiming, "Brother Xiaobai looks so handsome riding a horse! Even the way he just dismounted was so smooth and dashing."
"I should just charm you to death, then~" Nazha teased her assistant.
That made the assistant blush all over, and she suddenly remembered the egg from breakfast.
For some reason, she couldn't quite forget the taste of that ordinary-tasting boiled egg.
Of course, while a few girls were willing to give Bailiang some face and cheer for his handsome face, there were others talking behind his back.
*What are you pretending for, you little punk?*
Bailiang's face was still very unfamiliar to the crew—not just the crew, but quite unfamiliar in the entertainment industry as well.
Nobody knew him, so naturally there was no such thing as showing him three points of respect upon meeting.
First respect the clothes, then respect the person; it's all the same logic.
In the entertainment industry, the face is a business card.
Bailiang really did pull off a very handsome flex, but the positive effect only worked on some people, while also making others somewhat displeased with him.
The more excessive ones even sneered right to his face.
As if saying: *Are you that good at riding? What's the use of knowing how to ride a horse? To make it out here in the world, you need influence, you need background...*
Bailiang: Exactly!
He nodded with satisfaction and flashed a smile at the other person, his sunny, cheerful, boy-next-door charm dialed up to the max.
*Thanks, man! Now it's complete.*
His smile, however, completely baffled the sneering guy who had jumped out to provoke him.
*No, bro.*
*What the hell do you mean by smiling at me like that?*
After broadcasting truth, goodness, and beauty to the world, Bailiang slipped away—effectively showing off and running, taking zero responsibility for the aftermath.
That sneering guy was left in agony. Although he'd been a bit impulsive, since he'd already thrown out his "punch," the sensation of hitting a soft ball of cotton left him wanting to vomit blood.
What was most infuriating was that the others who had just agreed with him that "it's nothing special" now started talking behind his back.
"Why is he reacting so intensely?"
"He's just frustrated. He thought he had what it takes, but he's ended up struggling just to get an extra role. Didn't the crew hold auditions for that major supporting role of Liu Bian yesterday? He went in full of confidence, and didn't get chosen. Now he's just playing a foot soldier like the rest of us."
"......"
At that moment, the shared feeling of being in the same boat acted like a catalyst, magnifying Bailiang's smile from just moments ago.
The previously arrogant and disdainful young man was now actually somewhat dazed and bewildered.
He subconsciously looked in Bailiang's direction... and found that the guy was currently standing with Sun Qiang, the crew's casting director, chatting and laughing.
It was Sun Qiang who had auditioned him for the role of Liu Bian yesterday, and the result, of course, was to go back and wait for a notice.
Having to wait for a notice for such a small role was basically a subtle way of saying, "You've got no chance."
"Hey, you there, come over here." Sun Qiang suddenly waved in their direction and shouted.
The sneering guy: *Seems like he's calling me?*
He froze in place for two whole seconds, gave a full-body shudder, and hurriedly dashed forward!
As a result, after running three steps, he took a fierce tumble, wincing in pain.
"Good grief, slow down..." Sun Qiang looked at this fellow speechlessly, then turned his head and asked Bailiang with a smile, "He was one of the ones who auditioned for Liu Bian yesterday. This guy is taking over your original role—got any pointers?"
The sneering guy, who had just climbed up from the ground and scurried over, opened his eyes wide!
Countless thoughts and ideas rushed through his mind.
To sum it up: he was filled with regret!
However, Bailiang looked at his miserable, tripped-up state and spread his hands like a little bear: "He's great."
The sneering guy's first reaction was still disdain: *Hah, you actually dare to offer pointers?!*
The next second, he saw Sun Qiang nod casually. "Then it's him."
"Thank you! Thank you, Director, for giving me this opportunity..." The sneering guy wore a joyful expression, but as he looked at Bailiang, he immediately lowered his head after just one glance.
Don't ask why.
The sunshine was simply too blinding!
He now felt like a filthy sewer rat dragged out and exposed to the blazing sun!
It wasn't until Bailiang turned and walked away that he dared to send him off with a parting gaze.
His heart was naturally filled with a complex mixture of emotions.
In the end, he still managed to mutter a "thank you," audible only to himself.
Fortunately, Bailiang was running into some "trouble" of his own on the other side.
"I heard everything just now. Aren't you a bit *too* nice?"
"Don't casually hand out good-guy cards to people, it's bad luck."
Bailiang turned around to see a bright-eyed, white-toothed girl in ancient costume blinking at him with curiosity.
He had some impression of this outfit—it had flashed past the stables just moments ago, likely one of the girls cheering for his handsome stunt.
Now that he saw her face, naturally he wouldn't fail to recognize her.
"Repaying grievances with virtue, huh? I heard that guy grumbling at you, yet you still spoke up for him over at Director Sun's just now! Of course you're a good person!" Meng Ziyi clearly had quite a mind of her own, and her judgment was resolute.
Bailiang thought about it. "You're a good person too."
To himself: *Just a bit whiny.*
Still, considering how pretty she was, Bailiang forgave her for dealing him a good-guy card.
Oh right, he'd heard that many of her close friends were quite pretty.
The phenomenon of pretty girls hanging out in groups seemed pretty common in the entertainment industry.
Di, Mi, Meng, Zha—he'd already met two of them on this trip.
There really were so many pretty girls in this crew!
Only, the story's development was heading in a rather strange direction...